Mr. Erik Milito - The House Committee on Natural Resources ...

Executive Summary
Hydraulic fracturing has played an important role in the development of America’s oil and gas resources for nearly 60
years. In the U.S., an estimated 35,000 wells are hydraulically fractured annually and it is estimated that over one
million wells have been hydraulically fractured since the first well in the late 1940s. As production from conventional
oil and gas fields continues to mature and the shift to non-conventional resources increases, the importance of
hydraulic fracturing will also increase.
<strong>The</strong> purpose of this guidance document is to identify and describe many of the current industry best practices used to
minimize environmental impacts associated with the acquisition, use, management, treatment, and disposal of water
and other fluids associated with the process of hydraulic fracturing. This document focuses primarily on issues
associated with the water used for purposes of hydraulic fracturing and does not address other water management
issues and considerations associated with oil and gas exploration, drilling, and production. It complements two other
API Documents; one (API Guidance Document HF1, Hydraulic Fracturing Operations—Well Construction and
Integrity Guidelines, First Edition, October 2009) focused on groundwater protection related to drilling and hydraulic
fracturing operations, [1] which specifically highlights recommended practices for well construction and integrity of
hydraulically fractured wells, and the second (API Guidance Document HF3, Surface Environmental Considerations
Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing, publication pending, but expected in 2nd Quarter of 2010) focused on surface
environmental issues associated with the hydraulic fracturing process. [2]
This document provides guidance and highlights many of the key considerations to minimize environmental and
societal impacts associated with the acquisition, use, management, treatment, and disposal of water and other fluids
used in the hydraulic fracturing process, including the following.
1) Operators should engage in proactive communication with local water planning agencies to ensure oil and gas
operations do not constrain the resource requirements of local communities and to ensure compliance with all
regulatory requirements. Understanding local water needs may help in the development of water storage and
management plans that will be acceptable to the communities neighboring oil and gas operations. Also, this
proactive communication will help operators in understanding the preferred sources of water to be used for
hydraulic fracturing by the local planning agency.
2) Basin-wide hydraulic fracturing planning can be beneficial upon an operator’s entry into a new operating area or
basin, depending on the scale of the planned operations. <strong>The</strong> planning effort may include a review of potential
water resources and wastewater management opportunities that could be used to support hydraulic fracturing
operations. This review should consider the anticipated volumes of water required for basin-wide fracturing in
addition to other water requirements for exploration and production operations. Operators should continue to
engage local water planning agencies when developing their hydraulic fracturing programs and consider a broad
spectrum of competing water requirements and constraints, such as: location and timing of water withdrawal; water
source; water transport; fluid handling and storage requirements; flow back water treatment/disposal options; and
potential for water recycling.
3) Upon initial development, planning and resource extraction of a new basin, operators should review the available
information describing water quality characteristics (surface and groundwater) in the area and, if necessary,
proactively work with state and local regulators to assess the baseline characteristics of local groundwater and
surface water bodies. Depending on the level of industry involvement in an area, this type of activity may be best
handled by a regional industry association, joint industry project, or compact. On a site specific basis, pre-drilling
surface and groundwater sampling/analysis should be considered as a means to provide a better understanding of
on-site water quality before drilling and hydraulic fracturing operations are initiated.
4) In evaluating potential water sources for hydraulic fracturing programs, an operator’s decision will depend upon
volume requirements, regulatory and physical availability, competing uses, discussions with local planning
agencies, and characteristics of the formation to be fractured (including water quality and compatibility
vi